AVENDRA ACQUIRES BUYEFFICIENT
Avendra , a North American procurement services provider serving the lodging and hospitality industries , acquired BuyEfficient , an online purchasing program , from its parent company Sunstone Hotel Investors , Inc . The acquisition supports Avendra ’ s growth strategy in current and new markets by providing an additional purchasing platform that can be integrated for customers interested in the technology .
BLENDTEC , LANCER REACH STRATEGIC AGREEMENT
Blendtec and Lancer announced a strategic agreement combining Blendtec commercial machines with Lancer ’ s manufacturing , marketing and service capabilities . The new collaboration , called Blendtec Commercial by Lancer , will launch January 1 , 2016 .
Under the agreement , Lancer will market , sell and provide after-sale service and support through Lancer ’ s existing Global Service Network for Blendtec ’ s commercial products , and will manufacture the commercial dispensing equipment .
INTERGASTRA REPORTS FULL HOUSE AHEAD OF SHOW
Intergastra , a trade fair for innovative gastronomy , reports that it is mostly booked ahead of its February 20 to 24 , 2016 show in Stuttgart , Germany . The show is held on more than 1,076,391 square feet ( 100,000 square meters ) and will host about 1,300 exhibitors . Roughly 90,000 visitors are expected to attend .
“ The extremely good booking situation reflects the optimistic outlook in the sector and the good economic environment — even though the framework conditions in the industry have become more difficult ,” says Ulrich Kromer , president of Messe Stuttgart .
WINTERHALTER WINS SMART LABEL AWARD 2015
Winterhalter , a commercial warewashing solutions specialist , won the SMART Label Award for its PT ClimatePlus , a rack pass-through warewasher with an integrated heat pump . The SMART Label Award is given to standout products with forward-looking features that set trends in the industry .
The PT ClimatePlus releases cool , dry air without letting steam escape when the hood is opened , cooling the kitchen . Winterhalter also reports that the warewasher offers 53 % energy savings compared to standard warewashers .
IN BRIEF
■ Villeroy & Boch provided plates for the sixth World Chocolate Masters held as part of the Salon du Chocolat Professionnel in Paris from October 28 to November 1 , 2015 .
■ Guest Supply , a subsidiary of Sysco Corp ., acquired Gilchrist & Soames .
■ Porter & Sail released a digital app combining mobile functionalities with customized city guides for hotel guests .
■ Along with ASSA ABLOY Hospitality , Intelity released an e-book , introducing Mobile Guestroom Access to Your Hotel .
■ Groupe GM partnered with French perfume house Atelier Cologne to create and distribute a new line of amenity products .
■ Julie Brezina joined DLR Group ’ s Hospitality and Interiors practice on the West Coast .
■ Cristi Moore joined Gensler ’ s Atlanta office as a hospitality design leader .
■ GuestCentric appointed Keith Povah as director of sales , Northern Europe .
■ Greg Pesik joined EveryMundo as chief strategy officer .
■ Nadel Architects hired Andrew Simons , AIA , as director of the firm ’ s hospitality studio .
■ Hotel Technology Next Generation announced a new Board of Governors member : Mark McBeth , vice president IT , Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide , Inc .
■ 1 Hotel & Homes South Beach in Miami , Florida , selected InfoGenesis POS and InfoGenesis Flex solutions from Agilysys .
■ AccorHotels selected Quadriga to deploy its WiFi cloud-based solution across its African hotel estate .
■ Crave Interactive supplied in-room tablets to The Lanesborough in London , United Kingdom .
■ Sealed Air ’ s Diversey Care division secured a five-year contract to provide cleaning systems , training and support to Fairmont Raffles Hotels International .
■ Wilson Associates and Tristan Auer announced the planned opening of an “ atelier haute couture of design ” in Paris , France .
■ TravelClick and Amadeus announced a multi-year agreement extending their partnership .
■ Hospitality eResources unveiled its new brand name and re-launched website at Her-Consulting . com .
■ Nick Hart opened 410 Hogan , a furniture factory in North Carolina to create custom casegoods and upholstery .
■ Enseo , an integrator in hospitality technology , announced that it has contracted its 300th hotel .
■ Perkins + Will integrated the firm ’ s São Paulo office , which has hotel design and technical planning experience .
■ Guestfolio , a CRM system for hoteliers , partnered with Hotello , a fully integrated hotel management solution .
■ Tambourine announced the launch of Symphony , a product combining digital marketing , booking and distribution .
■ Uniguest acquired technology innovator Vertical Systems Incorporated ( VSi ).
www . hotelsmag . com November December 2015 HOTELS 53